“Seriously, Keir, do you have to pull your Sports-Illustrated-cover-model-oh-so-casual-cascading-hair routine? Give some of the other girls around the pool half a chance, will ya?” Alex mocked.
I playfully struck a cover model pose in my throwback black-and-white, Marilyn Monroe polka-dot bikini, leaning my elbow on my knee and resting my chin prettily on my fist. “Here she is, boys.” I affected a voice even lower than my usual throaty one.
“Well, I don’t know about what the rest of the boys think, but ‘she’ walked out on my meeting.” I heard the distinctive tones of Brennan McAllister.
I shot a look at Alex that I knew she understood to mean “Why didn’t you warn me?” but she had ducked her head into the cooking magazine she was perusing.
I hopped up to face him. Well, after I hopped up I had to also look up since he stood a good foot over me. Darn it, why was I barefoot? I could have commanded a bit more respect in heels.
“Brennan, I thought our meeting was over since you took that call and left the room.”
“Is that how you conduct your business?” His usual grin was absent.
“What! How long did you expect me to wait when you were nowhere to be found?”
He looked down to the sheaf of papers he carried and handed them to me. “That is neither here nor there. I expect this report to be completed. Please leave it at the purser’s desk, and I’ll pick it up. If I don’t see you, I’ll see you at the same meeting time tomorrow, and please be on time.”
I opened my mouth to comment but didn’t get the chance. He turned to Alex, his dimples back and face split once more into that infuriating smile.
“Alexandria, so good to see you again. I’m looking forward to your demo on Thursday. Are the two of you attending the show this evening?” he asked, indicating both Alex and Cam.
“The whole family is coming, aren’t we, Keir?” Alex answered, her own blue eyes sparkling.
I was nothing if not properly raised. “We’re all looking forward to it,” I choked out.
“Terrific,” he clapped his hands together and straightened his cruise-director blazer and slacks and moved on, greeting cruisers along his way across the deck.
I sat back down on the edge of my lounge chair and began shuffling through the pile of documents he had handed me.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I murmured.
Alex stood up and peeked over my shoulder. “What, what, what ...”
I shrugged her away but answered, “All the questions he asked me are right here! He could have just given me this document to fill out this morning, or he could have taken notes. The worst thing is, I can’t even make a copy and have it ready for tomorrow’s meeting because everything is specific to this day.”
Alex sat back on her own chair and could not keep from laughing. “I knew your chickens would come home to roost one day!”
I rolled up the document and began to beat her with it.
“Stop, stop, stop!” she laughed. “You don’t want to get in trouble for turning in sloppy work, too, do you?”
I reluctantly stopped and smoothed out the sheets.
“What chickens?” asked Cam.
“Oh, Princess Keira here was the only undergraduate ever selected to run the computer lab back at college.”
“So?” Cam seemed confused.
“So,” continued Alex, “she was the strictest, most orderly person to run that lab EVER.”
I glared at her. “Um, if they hadn’t given me the shifts when the marketing majors were assigned, I think I wouldn’t have had to be as strict.” I looked at her pointedly. “The math and computer majors were more respectful.”
“Wait,” said Cam. “You can’t mean to tell me that our little Ali and her marketing crew didn’t follow the rules?”
“Hush,” said Alex. “We followed the RULES, just not to Keira’s specifications. She had us fill out million-page documents just to reserve space—”
“Really? A million?” I couldn’t contain my sarcasm.
“Well, not a million, but a lot more information than you would think!”
“You know who you can blame for that? The frat boys who would want to use the systems ‘just for a minute’.” I turned to Cam to plead my case. “You’re a tech guy, Cam.”
He sat up and pushed his shades up on his head. “Hey! How did I get dragged into this? I wasn’t even there.”
“You wanted to hear the story!” Alex and I said in unison, then looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“In any case,” I continued, “not everyone had their own computers or access to the Internet at that time, so they needed to use the lab for more than if they were taking computer classes. Some of those guys would want to log on and, well, do some pretty sketchy ‘research’ and—”
“I get it,” Cam said, nodding. “And you would be responsible for what was found on the server. Ally-Cat, I hate to say it, but Keira probably had a point, running the lab the way she did.”
Alex waved her arms at him. “Oh, you would take up for her, you uber-geek. In any case, I really believe that this system that Captain Blue Eyes—”
“He’s not the captain,” I interrupted and corrected.
“Okay, Cruise Director Blue Eyes has set up is perfect for our own uber-organized gal.”
“Pfft. Whatever.” I patted the papers. “Does he think I can’t get through these? I’ll be done quicker than anyone ever has.”
“I really don’t think it’s a contest, Keira.”
“Uh-huh. Sure. Right.” But in my mind it was a contest. And I was going to WIN!
Alex and Cam convinced me to put my “assignment” aside and fill them in on the first day’s activities. By the time I caught them up on Louisiana Annie’s enthusiastic class and Joe’s uproarious session, Damian joined us.
“Padre! We haven’t seen you today,” Cam said and pulled over a nearby lounge chair for Damian, who deposited his lanky frame in it.
“After I celebrated Mass, I joined the folks for their walking tour of Nassau,” he said. “What a beautiful little town. Did you guys get a chance to visit?”
Cam shook his head.
“You know your sister and brother. Celia and I spent most of our day playing referee between them in their various competitions while we all snorkeled and kayaked.”
“Ha! You were right in the thick of it!”
“I think that the others might see it differently,” Cam laughed. “Maybe we should pause this discussion until we’re together at dinner and Celia can back me up.”
Alex swatted Cam lovingly with her rolled-up magazine, then turned her attention back to Damian.
“Did Ma and Pop seem to have a good time?”
“Oh, you bet,” Damian said. “You know Pop stopped at every example of flora and fauna along the way, and Ma shopped for tons of souvenirs for the grandkids.”
“I hope she brought an extra empty suitcase for that,” said Alex, smiling. “We have a few more days on the journey.”
“Don’t worry, she bought a bag on the island.”
“How about my mother?” I asked cautiously. “Was she with you?”
“She and Russ were with us and had a great time as well,” said Damian.
“Good.”
“Keira, are you still worried about—” Alex began.
“No, no, no.” I rushed to correct her. “I’ve accepted them as a couple. At least I think I have.”
My face must have looked doubtful.
“You don’t sound so sure,” Alex said.
I shrugged.
“Okay. Let’s just say, I’m working on it. Can we not make it the main topic of conversation? We have dinner and the show to think about tonight.”
“Just dinner and the show?” asked Damian pointedly.
“Why? What else is going on?” Alex sat up eager for information. Really, sometimes it was as if we were still eighteen years old.
“I don’t know,” Damian grinned. “Ask Keira. All
I know is that I ran into Jules in the passageway outside our staterooms, and she said that if I saw you to remind you not to be late for your meeting at the Sports Bar. Is there some activity we need to know about not listed on the Lodestone?”
“Whaaaat!” Alex swatted me. “You’ve been sitting here all this time and haven’t bothered to bring up THAT little tidbit of information?”
“Calm down, Alexandria!” I scooted away. “My gosh, always with the drama.”
Her eyes could not squint smaller, and she opened her mouth to remind me that her nickname was, after all, “Drama Queen,” but I cut her off with a look.
She crossed her arms, expectantly. I looked to Cam and Damian for support but found none. Traitors.
“Fine,” I allowed, knowing that Juliet and I were not going to be able to have quiet drinks with the handsome dark-haired strangers now without at least one member of my extended family cruising nearby to observe.
I recounted the meeting with Langston and Owen and the invitation for cocktails.
“That sounds promising!” Alex’s eyes glowed. “What will you wear? How are you doing your hair? You always look good when you let it flow like that—what?”
She stopped when Cam reached over to embrace her and give her a loud kiss on the cheek.
“My endlessly hopeless romantic,” he said.
“So?” she grinned. “I’m not saying she has to MARRY the older brother, I’m just saying he would be nice to chat or dance with or have a midnight stroll on the deck—”
“Whoa,” I interrupted. “First, how did we get from one cocktail in the Sports Bar to a midnight stroll? And second, how did you assign me the older brother? Why not the younger?”
Alex shook her head from side to side.
“It’s obvious. He sounds more like your type.”
“By whose definition? You’ve never met either one!”
“I can tell by the way you described him,” she said illogically.
“Augh.” I laid back on my lounge chair as Cam and Damian laughed heartily.
I sat back up.
“Okay, Ali, here’s the deal. I’m leaving here to complete this ridiculous report for my ‘boss,’ then to shower and change to join Juliet and the two nice gentlemen in the Sports Bar for one cocktail. Please, please promise me that you will not follow me to give me wardrobe or hair advice. Most importantly, promise me that I will not see your elfin face anywhere near the bar preparing to render judgment on a man who at this moment has no idea is already being fitted for a tuxedo!”
I finished with a flourish as I gathered my things and stood to leave.
“I promise you. I ... will not,” she said.
“Good. I will see you at dinner.” I turned to Cam and Damian. “And I thank the two of you for providing me no protection.”
“Anytime.” “Love you, sis,” they chorused as I walked away.
It did not hit me until I reached the elevator that Alex paused just a little too long on the word “I” when she made that promise.
Chapter Eleven
Juliet’s door opened the moment I arrived at my stateroom. “I know what time it is, Juliet,” I said as I unlocked my door. Geesh, was she standing with her eye glued to the peephole?
“More importantly, do you know what time we’re supposed to be downstairs?” she followed me into my stateroom.
“Please, come in,” I said drily.
“No time for niceties, sister, we have a date.”
I looked at my watch. It was early even by my early-bird standards.
“Juliet, if we get ready now, we’ll be absolutely wilted by the time we get there!”
Clad in her brightly patterned kimono, with no makeup on yet, she wasn’t ready, but she obviously was in preparation mode.
“Keira, I know you. If you think about this for too long, you might come up with a reason to not even go. I’m here as sort of a—”
“Cheerleader?” I suggested as I flopped down on the bed and kicked off my sandals. “Are you going to have a pep rally for me?”
“Ha,” she said as she sat next to me. “But you know that when you are in business mode, sometimes you can come up with excuses to ignore your social obligations.”
“My ‘social obligations’? You sound like my mother.”
“You know what I mean,” she nudged me. “Lately, at home you’ve been passing up more and more nights out to spend time with your best friend the computer.”
“What exactly do you think I’m doing when I’m logged on? Playing video games? Might I remind you that I’ve been making sure every t is crossed and every i is dotted for this project? Which, if you recall, can break open our business if it turns out to be a successful event.”
“Keira, you know we had this project buttoned down weeks ago. You actually had a spare minute here and there and could’ve taken a night out for dinner or something.”
“I have gone out to dinner!” I defended.
“Going over to Cam and Alex’s doesn’t count, and you know it.”
I pondered. Juliet was not a slacker and was definitely dedicated to the business, but still always managed to find time to have a healthy social life. Come to think of it, I thought I usually did, too. Besides, having a healthy social life also contributes to networking that is so important to keeping the business alive.
“You know we have to network to keep the business going,” Juliet echoed my thoughts.
“Oh, I know,” I agreed. “I guess I’ve just let planning this project take over a lot of my time.”
“Well, we’re here now, and there’s no more planning to be done. You know as well as I do that, barring a catastrophe, it will run smoothly. Relax!”
“I’d love to relax, Jules, but Brennan McAllister is being a real thorn in my side.”
“What! Didn’t you have your little check-in meeting with him? What could possibly have happened there?”
“Well ...” I shared the story of my earlier meeting with him and ended by showing her the multipage report that I had to complete.
She grabbed the document from my hands and scanned it.
“Are you flippin’ kiddin’ me?” she asked.
“I wish I was.”
“Keira, this is so silly,” she began, then sat back. “But we agreed that we have to put up with this minor annoyance so that we can make sure we get a positive review from the cruise line, didn’t we?”
She suddenly stood up and headed toward the door.
“Hey,” I said, “if this is a ‘we’ situation, where are you going?”
“He asked you to fill out the report, not me,” she smiled.
“So?”
“Do you need my help?”
“Well, no.”
“Will my being here get this done faster?”
“No, but—”
“Then I’m getting out of here, because I know you. Until you get that blasted paper finished, you won’t get ready for our drinks date, and I’m not doing anything that will stand in the way of THAT.”
“Seriously?”
She paused and turned in the doorway.
“If you need help with an answer from me, buzz me. Otherwise, get it done, get showered and dressed, and be ready to go in precisely ninety minutes.”
“Am I taking orders from you now?”
“In this instance, you are. There are two dashing strangers waiting to admire us, and I need to get ready to be admired.”
“You are ALWAYS ready to be admired!”
“Yes, but I want to strut into the bar and pick my best pose at just the right moment, so that they are stunned as they look up and view us walking toward them.” She struck her best Beyoncé stance.
“Get out!” I laughed and threw a small pillow at the door as she closed it.
Precisely ninety minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.
“How’s this?” I whipped open the door and struck my own pose.
“I don’t know, dear, what are you going for exactl
y?” asked my mother, trying but not succeeding to hide her smile.
“Mother!” I grinned. “I thought you were Juliet. Come in.”
“No need to, Keira. I just wanted to check in with you since I hadn’t seen you all day. Russ will be here in a moment. We’re headed down to take a stroll around the ship before dinner, and I wanted to wish you good luck on your date.”
How did she—? Oh, right, she was Juliet’s roommate.
“It’s not a date, Mother, more of a casual meet for drinks. I ... we—”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, dear. Do I know every date you have back home?”
“Well, no, but—”
She patted my cheek. “You deserve to have fun with a nice young man.”
Why did I suddenly feel like I was back at St. Mary’s going to a school dance with one of the boys from Regis Jesuit Academy? Russ walked up and joined us.
“Keira, you look stunning,” he said. “Your date is a lucky young man.”
How did HE know? Oh, right. Damian’s roommate. I wondered at that moment why I thought it was a good idea to travel with my entire family, real and extended.
“Russ, I was just telling Mother it’s not a date—”
“I know,” he smiled. “But any young man who is lucky enough to even sit for a moment and buy you a cocktail is very lucky indeed.”
I looked at him. He was sincere.
“Well. Anyway,” I said. I felt I needed to close the conversation. “You two scoot along. I need to see why Jules is late!”
Mother gave me a kiss on the cheek, and Russ squeezed my hand. They turned to walk to the elevator hand in hand. I sighed. Even from behind, you could tell they were truly happy.
I went back into my stateroom to retrieve my small handbag, and at that moment Juliet popped in.
“Keira! For crying out loud, let’s go! What are you waiting for?”
Love on the Lido Deck Page 9